An office printer and a production printer are used by operators for different purposes from each other, and operators operate the respective printers with placing importance on different functions of the printers. For this reason, these printers are configured to display screens designed in consideration with the usability of the different functions on which operators of the respective printers tend to place importance.
In recent years, image forming apparatuses each equipped with functions of both an office printer and a production printer (so as to serve as both an office printer and a production printer) have been proposed. Such image forming apparatuses are expected to be operated by operators on screens displayed in a display mode suitable for the operator's purpose, such as a display mode for office printing, for an operator who wants to use the printer as an office printer, or a display mode for production printing, for an operator who wants to use the printer as a production printer.
In a case that one image forming apparatus equipped with functions of an office printer and a production printer, is simultaneously used by operators as an office printer and as a production printer, it is desirable that screens displayed by the apparatus can be switched timely to be suitable for each operator who is using the functions of an office printer or the functions of an production printer.
As an example of a technique relating to switching-over of screens in an image forming apparatus, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 2008-247039 discloses the following image forming apparatus, though it is not an image forming apparatus equipped with functions of both an office printer and a production printer. The image forming apparatus includes an operation and display unit configured to switch a plurality of screens for configuring job settings, to display one of the screens, where the plurality of screens include a main screen and a plurality of function-list screens that are accessible from the main screen. The operation and display unit is configured to display the function-list screens in a normal display mode or a simple display mode, where each of the function-list screens in the normal display mode shows a plurality of function-selection keys for switching the currently displayed screen to respective function screens, and each of the function-list screens in the simple display mode shows a part of the function-selection keys to be displayed on the corresponding function-list screen in the normal display mode. Each of the function-list screens includes a display-mode switch that switches between the normal display mode and the simple display mode.
With the technique disclosed in JP-A No. 2008-247039, for example, a software key can be located in an initial screen (such as a standby screen of the copy mode, or a screen that allows an operator to select one of the copy mode, the scan mode and other operation modes) so as to allow an operator to change the display mode of the screen (in other words, switch between the normal display mode and the simple display mode in accordance with the preference or proficiency degree of the operator). By utilizing this technique in an image forming apparatus equipped with functions of both an office printer and a production printer, it allows an operator to switch between a screen for office printing and a screen for production printing by operator's operations on the software key whenever the operator wants. That is, in a case that the image forming apparatus equipped with functions of both types of printers, performs job processing, in accordance with operator's instructions on a screen displayed by the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus can present screens in a suitable display mode to an operator, by prompting the operator to select one of office printing and production printing in the beginning of the job processing.
In another case that the image forming apparatus performs processing of a print job, the image forming apparatus starts the job processing in response to receiving the print job from a client terminal, and it is not necessary for an operator to operate the image forming apparatus at this time. It means that, in most cases, the operator does not contact with a user interface of the image forming apparatus on or before sending the print job to the image forming apparatus. The operator will actually contact with the user interface of the image forming apparatus for the first time in the job processing, on the following situation after sending the print job: at the time of troubleshooting, confirming the status of the job, canceling the job, or the like, on a screen other than a setting screen of the image forming apparatus.
For this reason, in the image forming apparatus that controls screens according to the technique disclosed in the JP-A No. 2008-247039, it is necessary for an operator who wants to operate screens in the display mode according to the operator's purpose, to change the display mode by hand, at the time of troubleshooting, at the time of confirming the status of the job, at the time of canceling the job, or the like, which is troublesome for the operator.
When an operator switches the display mode on a comparatively intelligible and familiar screen like a main screen, erroneous operations and confusion of the operator are hard to occur. However, when the image forming apparatus presents a screen in a unfamiliar display mode, to an operator who is operating in a harry, for example, at the time of troubleshooting, at the time of confirming the status of the job, at the time of canceling the job, or the like, it will get the operator into the situation that the operator has to perform operations on an unfamiliar screen.
In other words, an office printer and a production printer display screens in different display modes (for example, different in the layout, expressing manner and contents of the screen) depending on the operator's use of the printer, even if the screens in different display modes relate to the same functions. Since the difference of the display modes greatly affects the operator's impression of the screen, a screen in an unexpected and unfamiliar display mode that has been displayed suddenly, easily causes erroneous operations and confusion of the operator, which prevents operator's quick and proper operations.